Want to invest in real estate with no financial risk and no money or credit? Wholesaling houses is a popular choice. I personally think wholesaling can be a challenging way to get started, but the fact that you can get started in real estate investing without any barrier of entry makes wholesaling an attractive option. If you can get good at this side of the business, you will be success with anything you want to do. The reason I say that is finding deals is what makes a wholesaler successful. If you can get good at finding deals, you have unlimited potential.

Once you find a deal, you need to understand how to sell it to make your profit. Here are four ways you can structure your wholesale properties.

Contract Assignment: This is the easiest, but comes with some risks if not done correctly. It is also somewhat restrictive as bank owned properties will prevent this. This works well when you negotiate your deals directly with the seller. The way this works is you will get a house under contract and then you will assign your rights in the contract to another buyer for a fee. That new buyer will take on the rights and responsibilities in the contract and will close in your place. It is best to get your fee paid up front, but it is very common to get your fee when your buyer buys the house. Here are a few things to keep in mind when assigning contracts.

Be sure that you always disclose to your seller that you are or may assign the agreement to another buyer for a fee. I suggest you actually put this in the contract. Sellers should be OK with this if you are transparent that you are an investor who buys houses for a profit before you start to negotiate.

I would get money from your money that is at least enough to cover any earnest money you put up with your seller. That way if your buyer defaults on the agreement you at least cover your costs. Always try to get the entire fee paid when you assign the contract.

I like this way the best because it is easy to do on your end, it is easy for the buyer and the buyer’s lender, and it is the cheapest way to go.

Double Close: This just means that you actually buy the house and then resell it. There are several ways to do this, but the most common is to buy and sell in the same day or within a day. Typically, you will need to bring in financing to get your closing done with the seller, which is why this is my least preferred method to wholesale. Also, because you have two closings you will have two sets of closing costs, so it is the most expensive way too. With that said, some wholesalers prefer this method because they do not have to disclose to the seller their intent to resell and they can both keep their deal with the seller and their deal with their buyer private. It is believed by some that this is a good way to protect your profits. The information will all become public record at some point, but that is well after the closing.

This is the method you will use by default if you do not do your contract on the front end correctly, so we do see double closing frequently.

Flip the Entity: This has become the most common way to wholesale in my market. Most, if not all, the successful wholesalers will use this strategy. Especially when wholesaling foreclosures where contract assignments are forbidden.

The way this works is the wholesaler will set up a separate entity, like an LLC or a Trust, and put that entity as the buyer of the house to be wholesaled. They will then sell the entity itself for a fee. The benefit with using this strategy is that actual contract on the house does not change. Since the buyer of the house is the entity, there are no issues with any regulation or assignment restrictions. The downside is it could be more work because of the extra step to set up the entity, and there could be additional fees to register the entity with the state. The risk for the buyer is whenever you buy a company you are buying all of it. So, if the entity was used in another transaction and owes money to anyone, the new buyer could be on the hook. Knowing this, the best way to do this transaction is with a brand-new entity used for this one purpose.

Relationship Close: I don’t know if there is an actual name for this method. In fact, it is rarely seen. What I mean by relationship close is that you have such a strong relationship with a buyer that you write offers in the buyer’s name. For this to work, you should be a licensed agent and preview houses for your buyer. You would need to understand their criteria and only offer on houses they will want to buy. I have a client that works this way. He has an agent write his offers and the agent/wholesaler gets paid a commission with each successful closing. They do 2 to 3 deals a month with this strategy. My client just signs contracts without looking at them at this point and trusts what the wholesaler is putting together solid offers. There is always an inspection clause protecting the buyer and the agent, but more than 9 out of 10 houses that go under contract close. That is because the agent/wholesaler knows the business and knows what this buyer will buy.

I finally decided to write my first post. Why not? But what could I possible write about that is interesting and educational as well. I can write about the market, mortgage rules, down payments, etc

Or read the newspaper and write a well digested post.

So, here we go, I remember that day as if it was an hour ago! It has scarred me forever and ever. Every time a client asks me to run an open house, I sweat and swallow super hard. Even after having lots of successful “open houses”, this one still manages to make me run to the bathroom and grab the famous Pepto-Bismol.

So, long ago, when I became a licensed real estate agent, at the beginning of my time as a Realtor. The new challenges I was facing, a bit anxious but super excited at the same time. Knowing what I am made out of, a very hard working, honest, reliable, ethical individual couldn’t wait to run my very first open house!

Since I had no listing of my own and couldn’t just run an open house on my own house and tell anyone entering through the entrance: “thank you for coming, but this house is really not for sale! It is just for me to practice my new skills”

So I asked a few fellow agents in my office and at last, after 2 months of trying, one of our broker asked me to help him out!

I was so excited that I had a hard time falling asleep! I did a CMA, I looked up all the past, present sales in the area; looked up all the schools from public, private, catholic, French, etc in the neighborhood. I had so much info on the area that I felt like a walking Google!

I asked myself so many questions that people could come up with and I had the answer to every single one of them memorized!

The day of, I put on my super tailored suit, make sure nothing was stuck between my teeth, etc. I just wanted to run it as professionally as possible.

Anyhow, after opening the lock box to the unit, I realized that my suit had no pockets! And I didn’t take my purse with me, so the only secure place I could come up with storing the property’s key for 2 hours was my bra. No big deal, who would find out, after all, I showered and my bra was super clean and my suit just came out of the dry cleaners. I could use a bit of water and soap after and put it back in the lock box. Problem solved!

Open house was over at 4 pm, not too many people showed up but I had everything under control. I was extremely happy with the outcome. It was GREAT, except for the key stored in my bra and started to be a little uncomfortable.

So, I lock the property’s door, made sure it was actually locked, put back the key in the lock box, shuffle the combination, get in my car with a huge smile!

Contact the listing agent and thanked him for the opportunity and that everything was left in its perfect condition.

The next day, I had a fund raising event to attend. 5KM walk for a children’s hospital. So, on that Sunday, I am walking and thinking of yesterday’s open house. I am going to call those few individuals that came in. Asked them for feedbacks and take it from there. At exact same moment, my phone ran and it was the listing agent asking me where the key to the property is?!

He asked me to look in my pockets or purse, just in case, by mistake I forgot to put it back in the box. I told him that was not possible. And I had to tell him where I stored the house key for 2 hours the day before (super embarrassing!) and the silent after that.

I drove to the property just to see it for myself, and yes, sure enough, no key… I couldn’t believe my eyes! Being new to the business, new to this brokerage, my very first open house experience that I wanted it so badly and wanted to be “perfect” just got destroyed. No key, no house key a scheduled open house and we couldn’t get in.

The property had no showings after my open house. Key just gone, nowhere to be found, did not fall out of the box when I was putting it back. A total mind blowing experience.

It was obvious that it was stolen, by whom? No one knows. They’ve changed the lock right away and took all necessary security action, but… I felt terrible for the owners! There is nothing worse than feeling unsecured in your own home! Just the thought of knowing that some stranger might have the key to your property made me sick! I put myself in their shoes and I couldn’t fall asleep just thinking of it.

I can’t describe how I felt on that day and still do. Every single time I have to open a lock box and close it again, I get this weird feeling (even today). It just feels like time stops for a split second and it slows down.

• Use proper boots – insulated, water and skid proof – whatever protects you best. The right footwear protects you from skidding, crushing your feet, and being electrocuted.

• Gloves are essential to safely deal with sharp objects and toxic substances. Put on those that are fit and right – welding gloves for welding, heavy-duty rubber gloves for concrete work, and insulated gloves and sleeves should work exposes you to electrical hazards.

• Injury to the head is one of the most dangerous fatalities and one must wear a proper hard hat to avoid it. Do a regular check for dents or deterioration and replace it as soon as you find any.

Scaffolding checklist:

• Do a daily check on scaffolding to ensure its steady and solid with high weight capacity. Report to seniors and get it corrected if its damaged or weakened in any way.

• Never use uneven surface and unsteady objects – loose bricks, barrels or concrete boxes – as base for scaffolding.

• Avoid using scaffolding in bad weather: be it rain, snow or hailstorm.

Electric safety checklist:

• Check all electrical tools and equipment regularly for defects and wear and tear. Replace the ones that are faulty in any way.

• Only qualified and designated operators must have access to electrical equipment.

• Use double insulated electrical equipment. Ground them if they are not. Refrain from using Multiple plug adapters; it’s dangerous!

Hazard communication:

• Workers must be notified about dangerous areas and stuffs by marking them as such – put up posters, signage and barricades whatever is required. Heavy electric equipment, suspended loads, toxic chemicals, wet and slippery patches etc. are few such hazards that must be marked.

Crane, hoist and rigging equipment safety checklist:

• Barricade/swing areas within the crane’s swing radius.

• See to it that load and speed limit is never exceed.

• Conduct daily safety and maintenance inspection for crane machinery and other rigging equipment before they are put to use.

• Only properly trained and qualified operators should have access to cranes, hoisting and rigging equipment.

• Keep these machines well away from electric equipment and power lines.

There is another checklist I have saved for the last: verifying that every entrant to the site – worker or visitor – carries a valid CSCS Card. This is a great way to cut down on fatalities especially those resulting from lack of knowledge or attention. Have workers without proper CSCS Cards? Get them proper cards by booking a CSCS Test online.